false stars

"packed with young talent"

"The attention to detail in Chika Shimizu's set design as well as props and costumes, the precision of the sound (by Kate Marvin) and lighting (by Elizabeth Mak), and the higher-caliber acting of all the actor made this production superb."

Buyer and cellar

(Bucks County Playhouse, PA)

“Chika Shimizu designed both the set – a modest collection of furniture – and the projections that appear on the back wall. Those projections are a good match for the script’s genial wit, using whimsical artwork that imagines the underground mall as a stylish place for Streisand to escape her hordes of devoted fans.” — Donald Brown, DC Metro Theatre Arts 11/11/2016

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

“It’s not unusual to be diverted by the high-quality technique of theater at the Yale Rep, but here the sleight-of-hand of Chika Shimizu’s set design takes its cue from the play’s fast and loose use of the spectator’s imagination to fill in the gaps. There are exits and entrances through sliding scenery, charmingly moveable peasant huts, a rocking explosion that bifurcates the backdrop, a perilous crossing of a misty ravine, and — a lovely effect — a projection of monstrous icicles that begin to drip, then turn to blossoms. In the second act, a hanging corpse dominates the backdrop to keep before us the fact that kangaroo courts can kill whomever they choose.”

“However, no fault can be found in the staging of “The Caucasian Chalk Garden.” Scenic designer Chika Shimizu’s sets are disturbing and fraught with images of disruption and psychological terror, matched by Stephen Strawbridge’s riveting lighting design and the often shattering impact of Matt Tierney’s sound design. Visually, “Chalk Circle” is stunning."

“— Soule Golden’s costumes serve the story well, as do Stephen Strawbridge’s lighting and Chika Shimizu’s set, with an open playing area backed by jagged, changeable walls of red and charcoal. Even the preshow and intermission panel, with its completed enso circle, provokes thought."

“Chika Shimizu’s set, a suggestion of war zones around the world, is effective — if a bit too toylike at times to be sufficiently chilling. In one of his poems, Brecht asks: “In the dark times/ Will there also be singing?/ Yes, there will also be singing./ About the dark times.” Yale Rep’s production suggests one way to sing well about our dark times.”

“It is appealing to the eye as well, with Chika Shimizu’s large, brooding sets conveying the bleakness of the surroundings while Golden’s costumes infuse muted color – and in the case of Grusha, there’s even a pretty print – to offer individuals some happiness and hope." — Lauren Yarger, Connecticut Arts Connection 3/30/2015 ()“Designer Chika Shimizu has created a series of backdrops that blend, fold and crack open in a series of both vivid and ominous colors, establishing atmosphere, tension and even accommodating a shocking image. One can sense the danger of crossing a fragile rope walk over a deep ravine or catching a glimpse of hanged judge, one of Adzak’s predecessors, through irregular rectangular openings that resemble windows, in decided contrast with the sleek and cleanly rectangular backdrops of the early scenes.”

SEAGULL

(Access Theatre, NY)

"The creativity of the team becomes most apparent in their making full use of practical effects—Chika Shimizu’s atmospheric set becomes immersive with limited materials—and the result is transformative."

the visit

(Yale school of drama, CT)

“The scenic design by Chika Shimizu is wide open in the first half, with different spaces provided by small-scale buildings to represent the brick and mortar sturdiness of the town. Later, we get a shop, and a cardboard cut-out car that works quite effectively. There are also plenty of entrances, exits, use of the catwalk, and special effects.”

— Donald Brown, New Haven Review 11/1/2013

don't be too surprised

(YALE cabaret, CT)

“The costumes and set by Chika Shimizu combine to form what we might call an aesthetic of the second-hand. The TV console is an ungraceful embarrassment that might be salvageable as a kitschy keepsake. And the same applies to the vaguely hipsterish look of First Son’s jacket and pants and the economy-store eroticism of his wife’s costume.”

— Donald Brown, New Haven Review 10/1/2014

muzeum

(YALE cabaret, CT)

“And the Cab’s production is quite willing to beguile us with lovely costumes (Grier Coleman), a distinctive, eye-enticing set (Chika Shimizu and Izmir Ickbal) with rich projections (Davonte Johnson), and evocative choreography (Anita Shastri) to create a space of aesthetic contemplation. Sharma and company then place before us the very qualities of beauty and poise that, in the stories, become the only purpose for women whose looks make their fates, as in the story of the homely woman punished cruelly for having a crush on a god, or in the story of girls—in modern India—who reject suitors and are disfigured or killed in retaliation.”